Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ashland (NYSE:ASH) Stock Price

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $50.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.35% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on ASH. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Ashland from $77.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Evercore set a $62.00 target price on Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $73.00 target price on shares of Ashland in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Ashland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Ashland Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE:ASH opened at $51.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.35, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.40. Ashland has a 1-year low of $46.29 and a 1-year high of $65.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.06, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $55.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.45.

Ashland (NYSE:ASH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.06). Ashland had a negative net margin of 39.03% and a positive return on equity of 8.06%. The business had revenue of $964.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $485.61 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.99 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ashland will post 3.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ashland

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 3,673.3% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 566 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ashland by 59.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 671 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Ashland during the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 93.95% of the company’s stock.

About Ashland

Ashland Inc is a global specialty chemicals company that develops, manufactures and supplies a broad range of performance and process-critical additives, ingredients and technologies. Its portfolio spans performance additives for coatings, adhesives and sealants; specialty ingredients for personal care and pharmaceutical applications; and process aids used in water treatment and other industrial processes. Ashland aims to address customer challenges by delivering tailored solutions that improve product performance, processing efficiency and sustainability outcomes.

Founded in 1924 as the Ashland Oil & Refining Company, the firm gradually expanded into the specialty chemicals sector over the second half of the 20th century.